The Return
by shan14
Summary: Lindsay returns from Montana bringing with her more unanswered questions. Spoilers for season three.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my first CSI NY story. it is set afte Lindsay went to testify in Montana at near the end of season three.**

**Disclaimer: Csi NY and anything affiliated with it are property of CBS. I own Kayla...**

Danny unlocked his door, dropped his bags and shrugged off his rain soaked coat before hanging it up. He wandered through his empty apartment trying to ward of the impending night of silence. Friday nights usually meant ice cream and old movies with Montana but ever since she had disappeared he had been all alone on Friday nights and quite frankly it sucked. The first week he had tried it by himself but that had failed immensely. The ice cream (Raspberry Ripple, Lindsay favourite) had tasted crap, the movie (which usually cracked him up) hadn't been funny and so not even half way through he had turned it off, vowing to never try a movie night by himself again.

He was so deep in his own thoughts that he almost missed the soft knock at his door.

"Comin" he called, before quickly flicking on the TV, so that in the off chance that it was someone from work they wouldn't know that he had been sitting in his apartment, all alone watching the clock tick and wishing Lindsay was next to him again.

He opened the door slowly, surprised to find Mac and Stella on the other side.

"Hey" he greeted "What's up?"

"We just came by to drop this off" said Stella, handing him his security clearance card.

"You left it on your desk, when you went home this afternoon so I figured you where either quitting or had forgotten it" joked Mac.

"No" Danny laughed quietly "I must have just left it on my desk when I went home. It was a pretty busy day so I was tired and must have just left it there. Hey do you guys want to come in for a beer or something?" he asked suddenly, catching Mac and Stella by surprise. "I just don't feel like being alone right now" he explained sheepishly "But if you guys have other plans that's fine, you don't have to"

"No, a beer sounds great Danny" smiled Stella.

"What will you guy's have" yelled Danny from the kitchen.

"Waters fine" answered Stella.

"Yeah" agreed Mac.

"Are you going to tell him?" whispered Stella leaning in to make sure Danny didn't hear their conversation.

"I don't know Stel" said Mac, shaking his head.

"Mac he deserves to know. You've seen the way he's been. He thinks she up and left him. He needs to know what really happened" warned Stella.

"Everything okay?" asked Danny walking into the room.

"Yes" said Stella, taking her glass. She stared at Mac.

"Actually Danny, there's another reason Stella and I dropped by" started Mac "I got a call from Lindsay today"

"Oh" said Danny, trying not to sound too concerned. Inside his stomach was doing somersaults and his mind was reeling.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked.

"Yeah" nodded Mac "Actually I've known where she was all along"

"What" exclaimed Danny, immediately confused "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Lindsay didn't want to worry you so she asked me not to tell you where she was"

"She didn't want to worry me. What, is she in trouble or something?" asked Danny, trying to stop his mind going through the possibilities of what trouble she was in.

"Danny calm down" said Stella, placing a restraining hand on his arm.

Once he had settled down Mac started explaining.

"Lindsay went back to Montana to testify on a case" he explained.

"What case, how come I didn't know about this case?" asked Danny.

"When Lindsay was about 16, she survived a crime in which four of her friends died" answered Stella.

"The guy wasn't caught at first so Lindsay wouldn't leave Montana. Last year though, the caught the guy and Lindsay didn't see the point of staying in Montana. Her job was done and too many things reminded her of what happened. That's when she moved up here"

Danny nodded trying to digest the new found information. He couldn't believe that any one would try and hurt Lindsay, His Montana. He had the sudden urge to throw up and kill the person responsible for hurting her all at the same time, but restrained form either after realising Mac was still talking.

"Lindsay was asked back to testify against him in Montana so that's where she's been for the last three months"

"What!" exploded Danny "They made her face the man who did that to her again, what's wrong with those people" he yelled.

"Danny, you need to calm down okay" said Stella, noticing the young man begin to shake. "Lindsay agreed to do this. Okay. It was her choice to face him. She need's that closure"

"Okay" whispered Danny, sitting back down. "Why'd she ring you?" he asked a few minutes later.

"To tell me the case had finished" answered Mac.

"Was the guy convicted?" asked Danny.

"She didn't say" answered Mac "All she said was that she would be home soon"

"Oh" nodded Danny "Thanks for telling me Mac"

"That's fine, now if you don't mind I think we should probably get going"

"Yeah" nodded Stella. "We'll let our selves out" she added, noticing the distant look on Danny's face. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even hear them get up or the thud of the door as it closed shut.

Later that night he struggled with a restless sleep. After spending hours laying awake letting his thoughts of Lindsay take over he had finally let sleep claim him, but now he tossed and turned in bed, the thoughts still plaguing him in sleep. His torment was ended momentarily by a sharp knock at the door.

'What the' he thought 'who on earth would be calling out this time of night'.

He stumbled out towards his front door, narrowly missing stubbing his toe on the lounge, before staring in the mirror to make sure he was presentable. He opened the door a crack and found him self staring up at none other than the women who had stolen his thoughts for the past three weeks. She was standing on his door step, soaked to the bone and pale, clingy desperately to a tiny sleeping girl on her hip.

"Lindsay" he whispered.

She opened her mouth to speak but all she could manage to do was pass the sleeping child into his arms. Her eyes fluttered closed and as quickly as she had appeared at his front door she feel forward against Danny's chest narrowly missing hitting the floor as he used his free arm to grab her around the waist. He stood there disbelievingly, Lindsay laying limp and unconscious in one arm and the little girl, awoken by the sudden movement, sniffling quietly in the other.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Next part in the story. thanks to veryone who reviewed.**

Danny half dragged, half carried the unconscious Lindsay over to his lounge and lay her gently down. As he stood up he turned to the little girl sitting in his arms. He smiled gently at her, hoping she'd maybe tell him what was going on but all he got was a small whimper followed by tears.

"Hey, hey. Its okay" he sang, bouncing her up and down. He looked over at Lindsay willing her to wake up and help him. He didn't mind kids but because of the lack of them in his life he wasn't used to looking after them, especially a crying little girl. Once the tears had stopped he put her down and she immediately crawled onto Lindsay's lap, burrowing her head under Lindsay's coat.

Lindsay's eyes fluttered open as the girl moved around. "Danny" she whispered.

"Hey Montana" he said, wiping a cool cloth over her forehead.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You fainted at my doorstep" he answered looking at her for an explanation. "When was the last time you ate or slept?" he asked.

"I don't know" she responded "A few day's ago maybe" she added in quietly.

"Lindsay" scowled Danny "You have to eat"

"I know I've just had a lot on my mind" she defended.

"Well, I'm going to make you something and your going to eat it okay" he said walking into the kitchen. "By the way" he added turning around in his track's "Who's the kid?"

"Kayla"

"Kayla" he responded, liking the way the name fitted the tiny child.

A few minutes later he walked back into the kitchen carrying a sandwich, a glass of water, and a bowl of Raspberry Ripple ice cream. "Eat up Montana"

Lindsay accepted the plates, but placed them down on the table "Danny will you do me a favour?" she asked suddenly "Kayla needs to get out of these clothes and have a bath otherwise she'll get sick but I know you won't let me move so I was wondering if you could give her a bath?"

"Um, yeah. I can do that" he answered.

"Thankyou Danny" she said laying a hand on his arm. "Kayla" she whispered "See this man here he's my friend Danny. Is it okay if he gives you a bath while a get some sleep?" she asked.

Kayla looked up at Danny then back at Lindsay. She nodded slightly. "Okay then" said Danny picking her up again. "Oh and Danny" added in Lindsay "Remember to make sure the waters not to hot and don't leave her alone okay"

"Yes Lindsay" he called.

He carried Kayla into the bathroom and turned the taps on. They made a squeaking noise at first due to not being used in forever but after a few seconds a steady stream of warm water starting flowing out into the bath. Danny set Kayla down on the mat and peeled the soaking clothes of her. Once the water had stopped he checked its temperature and sat Kayla down in the bath.

She turned her head around slowly and Danny realised she was probably used to having something to play with in the bath. He looked around his bathroom but there was nothing very appealing to a young girl. "Sorry Kayla" he apologised "There's nothing very fun in here"

Kayla just turned back around from her exploring but Danny could see the slight disappointment in her face. He put his hand into the water and gently splashed some up so that it hit her in the arm. Kayla's head jerked up to face him in surprise but he could see the ghost of a smile cross her face. "Was that a smile Miss Kayla?" he teased while splashing more water onto her. Kayla's smile widened till she had joined Danny in a splashing contest. When he was thoroughly soaked Danny sat back on his heels and looked at her face. She had a bright smile like most kids her age but it was the kind you could tell hardly ever crossed her face. 'what on earth could cause a young girl to stop smiling?" he wondered. He picked her up in a white fluffy towel and carried her into his bedroom placing her down on the bed. "Now's the hard part" he muttered. Kayla's clothes where still soaked and he highly doubted Lindsay would have spare ones if she couldn't even remember to eat. In the end he found an old t-shirt for Kayla to wear. It was almost twice the size of her and reached past her ankles but it was warm and that was all Danny was worried about at the moment. "Now let's go see…" he trailed off, not knowing how Kayla knew Lindsay.

"Mummy" she confirmed in a small voice.

"Oh" exclaimed Danny. He hadn't been expecting Mummy, but now when he thought about it they did look very much alike.

They found Lindsay sound asleep on the lounge. Danny checked to see if she had eaten. The water was finished, as was the ice-cream but the sandwich was still sitting on the plate. "Rejected for the ice cream" he muttered. Kayla let out a small giggle, laughing at the strange man holding her who talked to sandwiches.

"Are you laughing at me" he said, pretending to be hurt. Kayla just giggled some more and nodded.

Lindsay opened her eyes slowly, surprised to hear her daughter laughing. "Are you having a good time with Danny?" she asked as Kayla climbed into her lap. She let out a small yawn and leaned in close to Lindsay. "I think it might be somebody's bed time" suggested Lindsay.

"I think it might be two people's bedtime" added Danny, noticing Lindsay try to stifle her own yawn. "You two can take my bed and I'll take the lounge" he instructed.

"Are you sure Danny?" asked Lindsay.

"Positive" he replied, leading them towards the room.

He tucked the two of them in per request from Kayla before walking to the door way. As he turned around he saw Kayla stretch out under the covers though when he looked closer he could see one tiny hand gripping onto the fabric of Lindsay's shirt. He flicked off the light and whispered Goodnight before walking to lye down on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N So so so sorry it took me so long to update this! i'll try and be a lot quicker now. hope you like!**

Danny awoke the next morning to a stiff neck and cramped legs.

"What the…." He muttered, turning around under the covers. He almost crashed off the lounge as he remembered why he wasn't in his bed. Montana, Kayla, sleeping he ticked off his mental check list. He looked down at his watch. It was only 6:30 and he wasn't needed at work for another two hours. He got up slowly, stretching out his cramped body before shuffling quietly his bedroom and peeking inside. Lindsay lay sound asleep, facing the window like she had been the night before. Kayla on the other hand had spread herself out to all corners of the bed, quite a feat for such a small child. Danny peered closer and noticed she still had one small hand clamped shut on Lindsay's shirt. Knuckles white from holding on so tightly. Danny smiled slightly at the girls, whispering a good morning but deciding to let them sleep. After all they had had a big day, and if Lindsay was correct a bigger one lay ahead of them. He crept into the room slowly, picking up pieces of clothing along the way before finding his work gear and creeping back out. He had almost made it when he heard a small yawn from the bed behind him, followed by a shuffling of sheets and a quiet sneeze. Danny turned around to face Kayla, sitting up quietly in bed, but trying to hold back the bombardment of sneezes coming her way.

"Morning Kayla" greeted Danny. He was still unsure of where he stood with Kayla, she had seemed comfortable enough with him by the end of the night, but her scared behaviour from earlier still played at the back of his mind. Then there was the matter of her seriousness and what he had seen in the bathtub that confused him even more.

'Oh well' he thought 'there's nothing you can do until Lindsay wakes up'. He turned back to the girl, realising for the first time she was staring at him intently. He squirmed a bit under her gaze, quite unsettled by being analysed by a four year old.

"So should we get some breakfast?" he asked smiling encouragingly at her.

She nodded yes, before following him silently out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she tried to climb onto the stool.

"Here you go" said Danny, lifting her easily onto the chair. "Do you want pancakes or cereal or toast?" he asked.

"Pancakes" she nodded quietly.

"Pancakes it is" greed Danny. He leant against the bench so he was almost at eye level with Kayla. "Now I don't know about you but I feel like adding a few choc chips to these pancakes" he suggested playfully "Do you think mummy would mind if we do?"

"No" giggled Kayla. "Mummy likes choc chip pancakes and so do I"

"Really" inquired Danny "Well there my favourite to" he added. In fact they weren't, he much preferred blue berry but he wanted to keep Kayla talking as long as possible seeing as that was the longest thing she had said since arriving.

She raised her eyebrows at him in surprise, a look he was sure she had copied off Lindsay. Speaking off which it was time she woke up as well.

"Should we go wake mummy up" suggested Danny pouring the pancake mix onto the pan and watching it bubble up.

"Put the coffee on" said Kayla, eyeing the pancakes hungrily.

"Huh?" asked Danny confusedly.

"The coffee wakes mummy up" replied Kayla.

"She likes her coffee doesn't she" smiled Danny.

Kayla nodded enthusiastically giggling as she looked up and down.

A few minutes later Lindsay stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen following the scent of fresh coffee.

"Told you" smiled Kayla, happily munching away at her pancake.

"Told you what?" asked Lindsay, making a beeline for the coffee machine.

"I told Danny that the coffee would wake you up" replied Kayla.

"I'm not that bad, am I" complained Lindsay sarcastically, reaching over to tickle Kayla.  
"I think so" said Danny, walking in behind her as Kayla nodded and giggled.

"What did you do?" whispered Lindsay to Danny.

"What do you mean?" asked Danny in alarm. He ran desperately through what he'd done this morning, trying to figure out if he'd done something wrong to Kayla.

"I've never seen her this happy before" smiled Lindsay.

"Oh" said Danny in surprise "I just made pancakes" he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well you're doing something right" said Lindsay, nudging him playfully in the shoulder.

"Thanks" said Danny, grinning as Lindsay walked past him to join Kayla at the bench.

"'Okay miss, I think it's time you go and get dressed" announced Lindsay. "We're meeting one of my friends at 8 o'clock"

Kayla nodded in response, scoffing down the remains of her pancake before hopping off the stool and skipping into Danny's bedroom.

"I'll go get her clothes from the drier" suggested Lindsay.

"Cool" nodded Danny distractedly.

"You okay?" asked Lindsay, walking past Danny into the bathroom.

Danny paused for a second. "Actually Lindsay, I have to ask you something" he said.

"Yeah" prompted Lindsay, walking back into the kitchen, Kayla's clothes lying over her arm.

"I know this may be none of my business but I noticed last night that Kayla had some scars on her arm"

Lindsay opened her mouth to say something but instead hung her head, drawing in a deep breathe. "I was wondering if you would notice"

"What, what were they?" he asked hesitantly.

"Cigarette burns" whispered Lindsay, refusing to look Danny in the eye.

"What?" gapped Danny "How did she get them?" he asked forcibly.

Lindsay looked up at Danny, tears in her eyes. "Look Danny…."

"Mummy I'm cold" called Kayla, interrupting the adult's conversation.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute sweetheart" replied Lindsay "Danny, I have to get her dressed" she sighed.

"Yeah" nodded Danny slowly.

"I'll explain after. Okay?" asked Lindsay, laying a hand on his arm.

"Sure" said Danny. He watched Lindsay slowly walk towards his room, brushing a few stray tears away before opening the door and smiling brightly to Kayla.

Danny walked back into the kitchen, trying to stop himself from coming up with reasons for a four year old to have cigarette burns. His mind though, kept coming back to one possibility. Some one had hurt the two of them, and if they tried to again, by god Danny would hurt him, even if it hurt him to do so.


End file.
